Baghdad June 2008: Bird's eye view of a wounded city

Saad Khalaf / Los Angeles Times

Saad Khalaf with Baghdad Bureau Chief Tina Susman just before his second-ever ride in a Blackhawk helicopter last fall. The photos and impressions included here are from his first-ever Blackhawk ride in June 2007.

Saad Khalaf with Baghdad Bureau Chief Tina Susman just before his second-ever ride in a Blackhawk helicopter last fall. The photos and impressions included here are from his first-ever Blackhawk ride in June 2007. (Saad Khalaf / Los Angeles Times)